cur·rent

3. The amount of electric charge that passes a point in a unit of time, usually expressed in amperes.

Did You Know? You listen to your portable CD player thanks to direct current, but you turn on the lights thanks to alternating current. Direct current, or DC, is electricity that flows at a constant voltage directly from a source, such as a battery with a stored electric charge. Batteries are great when you're on the move, but DC has a fundamental problem: electricity is easily lost to resistance and wasted as heat in the wires. Alternating current, or AC, on the other hand, is what flows from your walls. This is because it can be transmitted at very high voltage with little heat loss. Moreover, the voltage can efficiently be brought down to a low, safe level for home use. AC's name reflects the fact that the current alternates its direction of flow. On average, AC flow in the US switches direction 60 times each second and delivers about 115 volts from an ordinary outlet. Other countries set their own AC standards.

current

A body of water moving in a certain direction and caused by wind and density differences in water. The effects of a current are modified by water depth, underwater topography, basin shape, land masses, and deflection from the earth's rotation.

ocean current - the steady flow of surface ocean water in a prevailing direction

3.

current - dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas; "two streams of development run through American history"; "stream of consciousness"; "the flow of thought"; "the current of history"

course, line - a connected series of events or actions or developments; "the government took a firm course"; "historians can only point out those lines for which evidence is available"

Adj.

1.

current - occurring in or belonging to the present time; "current events"; "the current topic"; "current negotiations"; "current psychoanalytic theories"; "the ship's current position"

modern - belonging to the modern era; since the Middle Ages; "modern art"; "modern furniture"; "modern history"; "totem poles are modern rather than prehistoric"

new - not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered; "a new law"; "new cars"; "a new comet"; "a new friend"; "a new year"; "the New World"

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